Railway-track



H. C. SAWYER.

RAILWAY TRACK. APPLICATION FILED OCT- 13, 1920.

1,399,802. i Patented Dec. 13, 1921..

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HARVEY c. sAwYEE, or sr. BAUL, MINNESOTA.

RAILWAY-TRACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

Application iled October 13, 1920. Serial No. 416,609.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, HARVEY C. SAWYER, acitizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county ofRamsey and State of A, Minnesota, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Railway-Tracks, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in railway tracks.

Its object is to provide a track that is inexpensive to construct, easyto lay, and durable in use.

A further object of my invention is to provide a joint, b'etween railsof a track, which will eliminate noise and jar to the rolling stock.

Another object of my invention is to secure rigidity and safety in railjoints.

A still further obj ect of my invention is to provide a track, in whichthe rails are joined at their ends, in a manner to effect a materialsavingof metal and one which precludes the necessity for periodicallycutting ofi:l the ends of the rails.

As is well known, railway rails, in common use, are so joined at theirends that the impact of the rolling stock, in passing over the joints,causes a clicking noise and also in time wears down the ends of eachrail in a manner to make it necessary to periodically cut ofi' the endsof each rail. This repair work requires an expensive cutting machine andmuch labor and greatly increases the cost of operation.

Further, the rails, as usually joined, are held together at their endsby fish plates or angle bars and bolted together through the web of therail. In my improved rail I do away with these -iish plates, angle barsand bolts, and also by a novel form of end, on each rail, the joints aremade practically silent. Other advantages and objects of my improvedrail will hereinafter appear and be more vfully pointed out in theclaim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of myimproved rail showing a joint and both ends of one rail; Fig. 2 is anelevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig.1 and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one end of one 0f therails..

My rail includes the usual type of ball or tread 10 supported 'by a web11 on a flange 12. The rails are fastened to the ties by means of theusual type of spikes 13 which pass through perforations 14 in theflanges 12. The web 11 is thickened at 11a, near the end of each railsection, to give the necessary strength and to securely interlock theabutting surfaces of the rails'their ends are cut to form threedistinct, plain surfaces 15, 16 and 17 (Fig. 4). The surfaces 15 and 17form oblique, vertical and horizontal angles with the surface 12EL ofthe flanges 12, while the surface 16 (the longest of the three endlsurfaces) is vertical but extends at an angle with the center line ofthe surface 12a. Thus the end of each rail is under-cut at the surfacel5, so that it tends to support the surface 17 ofthe abutting end.

To further insure a rigid joint I provide a stiffening plate 18 whichextends longitudinally a short distance beyond the surfaces 15 and 17 ateach joint. Laterally the plate 18 projects beyond the flanges 12 and isformed with upwardly extending flanges 19 which, when the rails arespiked to the ties, still further increase lateral rigidity.

In laying a track of my improved rails the several sections are placedend to end on any suitable ties and are secured to the latter by spikesthrough the perforations 14 in the anges 12. The ends of each railsection interlock with the adjacent rails as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Twoties 2O and 21 are placed beneath the ends of the stifl'ening plate 18and the spikes 13 are driven into these ties' through the perforations14 in the flanges 12 and similar perforations in the plate 18. All ofthe ends being identical, one rail may be easily substituted foranother.

In use as the rolling stock passes from one rail section to the next theweight rst arrives over the end surface 15 and tends to depress this endof the rail. This tendency is opposed not only by the rigid plate 18which distributesthe weight between abutting rail ends but also by theunder-cut characterof the surface 15 which is supported b v the surface17 on the adjacent rail.l Thus, if an end should be depressed theadjacent rail end will also vbe depressed an equal amount.

The coperation of the parts obviates the intersecting said inclinedsurfaces obliquely, 10 usual clicking and Wearing down at the a plateadapted to support the junction of joints. rail sections and means forsecuring said Having described my invention what I plate againstlongitudinal and transverse 5 claim as new and desire to protect byLetters movement.

Patent s: In testimonyy whereof I have hereunto sub- .15V

In a railway track a plurality of rail secscribed my name to thisspecification.

tions having ends formed by tvvo inclined plain surfaces and a verticalplain surface HARVEY C. SAWYER.

